Hard Rock / Metal fans and lovers of vinyl in general will welcome two new box sets that are upcoming from seminal UK Metal act Saxon and Gillan the highly successful and influential act fronted by vocalist Ian Gillan. Saxon will release an 8 LP set of live recordings on gold vinyl while The Gillan Collection 79 -82 features exact, first pressing, replicas of the five releases on 180g heavyweight vinyl.

SAXON - THE VINYL HOARD:

Britain’s favourite Heavy Metal warriors Saxon will have four of their most explosive live recordings pressed on vinyl for the first time and released by Demon Records in a must-have deluxe box set. ‘The Vinyl Hoard’ will be officially unleashed on the rock landscape on 28th October 2016.

The albums come as four double LP sets on 180 gram gold vinyl, each in a specially designed gatefold sleeve and presented in a slipcase box showcasing a beautiful brand new cover painting by legendary Saxon artist-in-residence, Paul Gregory. An exclusive limited edition of 500 copies will be available via Amazon, with a framable print of the cover painting signed by legendary frontman Biff Byford.

Saxon embark upon the UK leg of their Battering Ram World Tour with 9 dates featuring special guests Fastway and Girlschool from 28th October.

This is not going to be around again and with exclusive art work too… Bring it on - I think we’ll play some of these tracks on tour in the Autumn

— Biff Byford - Saxon

Each renamed after the tour during which the featured shows took place, the recordings were previously released as ‘The Eagle Has Landed’ II and III CDs and the ‘To Hell and Back Again’

The 8-vinyl album boxset will contain:

1. “The Dogs Of War Tour, 1995”

Recorded on tour in Germany

Featuring: Dogs Of War, Denim And Leather, Wheels Of Steel

2. “The Lionheart Tour, 2004”

Recorded on tour in France, England and Germany

Featuring: Lionheart, Court Of The Crimson King, Are We Travellers In Time

3. “A Night Out With The Boys, 2005: The 25th Anniversary of the NWOBHM”

Recorded on tour in Germany and Sweden

Featuring: And The Bands Played On, Suzie Hold On, Stand Up And Be Counted

4. “Rocksound Festival, 2006” [2 LP]

Recorded in Switzerland

Featuring: Backs To The Wall, Princess Of The Night, Crusader.

In the second half of the ’70s, in a Great Britain shaken by widespread poverty and social unrest, disillusioned youth expressed their discontent through the straightforward loudness of punk and heavy metal. In this culturally vivid canvas, where such movements reached their highest peak, Saxon started their career - initially under the moniker ‘Son of A Bitch’. It wasn’t long until they joined Motorhead on the road, attracted the attention of a label and recorded their self-titled debut in 1979. ‘Wheels of Steel’ followed one year later, giving Saxon their first Top 5 album in the UK charts and fans two classics - the title track and ‘747’ to head bang along to these days. When the term ‘New Wave of British Heavy Metal’ was coined in the 80s, Saxon carried the flag with pride. They stood the test of time, taking their influence on the European metal scene to the present days: their most recent album ‘Battering Ram’ charted in the UK in 2015 and reached #12 in Germany, while their roaring live shows never fail to attract and excite a large all age crowd.

It’s a wonderful thing, vinyl… Best held in two hands and treated with respect, as you place it carefully upon the turntable. You just bought something significant, not easily disposable. And look at the sleeves aren’t they cool. Read the lyrics and enjoy the artwork, while you are in the groove. No computers involved in the making of this music…enjoy

— Ian Gillan

The 180g heavyweight vinyl records will all be exact replicas of their first pressings; Future Shock, Gillan’s highest scoring album, reaching No.2 in the UK chart, will include the same 16-page booklet as featured in its original release.

Gillan was born on the ashes of the Ian Gillan Band in 1978, when Ian decided to abandon the jazz-fusion style of his previous project in favour of a more progressive direction, together with keyboardist Colin Towns. The band was dissolved in 1982 following the Magic tour, partly due to Gillan’s health issues with his vocal chords. Still in its brief existence they managed to release 5 top 20 albums and ride the popularity of the NWOBHM sweeping the continent.

Ascended to rock royalty status as the lead singer of Deep Purple, Ian Gillan continued making an impact on the rock scene, and has become an erudite elder statesman of the genre. He sang in the role of Jesus in the original Andrew Lloyd Webber show, Jesus Christ Superstar and he co-wrote and sang the iconic ‘Smoke on the Water’ among dozens of other hits. He has played to tens of millions of fans, and sold over one hundred million records. To this day he approaches writing, recording and touring with the zeal, passion and commitment of an eighteen year old.